Chapter 892: A Bolt From the Blue, a Huge Threat to the American Aviation Industry

"Although the development of NS22 was about half a year later than NS44, its structure is similar to NS44."

"As long as all the confirmation work of NS44 is completed, the progress of NS22 can be greatly accelerated."

"So it can enter mass production at the latest in the first quarter of the year after next."

"Of course, to mass produce, there must be customers."

"If Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation plans to use NS22 for C919, then we will definitely not drag our feet in terms of schedule and performance."

Before the people from AVIC and Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation came to inspect, Cao Yang had already learned about the relevant situation of C919.

The performance of the engine they are going to use is naturally very clear.

With all the indicators of NS22, it can be said to be fully leading.

At that time, it can not only meet the needs of C919, but even the subsequent upgraded products such as C929 can also meet the requirements.

After all, NS22 already has redundancy in thrust, which can completely enable C919 to be upgraded.

This is actually a very important factor for Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation.

At that time, their different models of aircraft will use the same engine, which is very beneficial for production and later maintenance.

It is also an important factor that each airline will consider when ordering aircraft.

"Mr. Cao, you are really amazing."

"We have been struggling for decades and have not been able to solve the problem in your hands so perfectly."

At this time, Zhao Tianling also recovered from the various shocks.

As the helmsman of a leading enterprise in the domestic aviation field, Zhao Tianling knows the importance of aircraft engines too well.

There are many aircraft in China that have various problems because they do not have good enough aircraft engines.

Even many fighter jets now still need to import engines from the polar bear.

This situation will take at least five or six years to be better resolved.

"Mr. Zhao, you have previously focused your energy on military aircraft, and the requirements of those engines are very different from those of NS44 and NS22."

"The foundation in this area in China is relatively weak. It is already very remarkable that you can solve the most urgent part of the demand."

"Our Nanshan Engine has an advantage of no burden. We can research whatever products we want, so we have finally achieved some current results in civil aviation engines."

As soon as the NS44 and NS22 of Nanshan Engine came out, it was the undisputed leader of civil aviation engines in China.

At this time, there is naturally no need to slap AVIC too much.

There is no benefit at all in that way.

Cao Yang has been able to lead the Nanshan-based enterprises to the present, and he has also come into contact with various people in various fields, so his emotional intelligence is not that low.

"That's not what I meant."

"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, Mr. Cao. As for the NS44 engine, even if you hand over all the drawings and data to AVIC now, we won't be able to produce it on our own within ten years."

"The threshold here is very clear to those of us who have done it before."

It's not the first day that Zhao Tianling has known Cao Yang. He is also very clear about the technical strength of the Nanshan system.

Similarly, the other party is relatively familiar with the situation of AVIC.

So it would be less embarrassing to be honest at this time.

"Domestic industrial technology has been changing with each passing day in recent years, and the technology of various aircraft engines is also progressing rapidly."

"I believe that in the next ten years, all the aircraft engines that are in demand in China can be produced by ourselves."

Cao Yang exchanged a few polite words with Zhao Tianling, while He Guoqing next to him couldn't wait to walk to the side of the NS22 prototype and circled around it several times.

"Mr. Cao, if the performance of NS22 can meet the requirements you introduced, then we will definitely use it as an engine for C919."

"As for whether to use NS22 in the end, we need to compare it with the previous engines and make comprehensive considerations."

He Guoqing's decision was not difficult to make.

After all, NS22 is a purely domestically produced engine, and its performance is even more advanced than that of C919.

Although the price and quality are unknown, it is definitely a good choice.

Cao Yang is also clear about this situation.

He does not expect that a visit will directly make Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation cancel the previous engine cooperation project and switch to Nanshan engines.

That is simply unrealistic.

To completely eliminate General Power, we have to rely on the next test and data.

"We welcome Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation to arrange a special technical team to come and exchange various issues related to NS22."

"In addition to the engine, our avionics system, landing gear and other related core components are currently being intensively developed."

"By then, all the related parts of Venusstar 777 will be purchased domestically."

"Some of them will be produced by our group, and some of them will be jointly developed and produced by domestic suppliers."

It is definitely not possible to eat alone, and the driving effect is not good enough.

Therefore, for some parts that have domestic production capacity, Cao Yang is ready to hand them over for production.

This can also reduce the investment of Nanshan related companies.

After all, some domestic companies may not have good design capabilities and cannot develop advanced products.

But if this is a processing according to drawings, the difficulty will be reduced a lot, and many parts can find qualified suppliers.

At that time, Venusstar Technology will develop with these companies, and it can greatly expand its influence invisibly.

After all, most of the manufacturers that can produce large aircraft related parts are state-owned enterprises. The innovation ability of these companies may not be very strong, but the policy influence ability in the industry is definitely very strong.

Even some industry standards and industry policies are drafted by them.

This kind of invisible value and influence still needs to be considered.

"Mr. Cao, why don't we first take a brief look at what other parts Venusstar Technology can produce, and then I will arrange a professional team of engineers to come and have a good exchange."

"If these parts can meet our design requirements, then C919 will choose to use domestic parts, which is naturally the best result."

Nanshan Engine has already made such a difficult thing as an aerospace engine, and other core parts can also be made by Nanshan companies. This is completely possible.

So this time He Guoqing actually chose to believe what Cao Yang said.

Cao Yang naturally had no objection to this.

However, the specific parts certainly do not need him, the world's richest man, to explain one by one. Naturally, the heads of Venusstar Technology and Nanshan Auto Parts will introduce them to everyone.

Originally, He Guoqing and his team only arranged two days to come on a business trip.

However, this introduction took him a week in Guangzhou. After the professional engineering teams of the subsequent parts had flown over to confirm on site and exchanged relevant technical information in depth, He Guoqing reluctantly left Guangzhou.

"Mr. He, according to the current situation, I think many things about C919 need to be reconsidered."

"The design capabilities of Venusstar Technology for large aircraft are far beyond our imagination."

"If our C919 is still produced according to the current plan, most of the core parts will be made from foreign suppliers, while Venusstar 777 is all made in China."

"The superiors can accept the result that there are no suitable parts from domestic suppliers."

"But there are similar products in China, but we still chose international suppliers. It will probably be more troublesome at that time."

"We may be criticized."

On the plane back to Shanghai, Wei Jian couldn't wait to express his views.

As a technical expert, he was completely impressed by the Nanshan-based companies this week.

Their level is really high.

Although some parts are still in the design stage, there is no physical object to see.

But from the design drawings and the simulation on NSCAD, there is no problem at all.

The next step is to invest in production lines to produce parts as soon as possible.

Or find a suitable domestic supplier and let it produce it according to the requirements of the drawings.

"If we choose all domestic suppliers, it will be very difficult for C919 to obtain airworthiness certification in Europe and the United States in the future."

He Guoqing was silent for a moment and expressed his concerns.

In his opinion, if C919 cannot obtain airworthiness certification, it will not be able to fly abroad and there will be many restrictions.

This is obviously not the situation that Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China wants to see.

Of course, he also understands what Wei Jian said.

By then, large aircraft such as Venus 777, which is obviously more difficult, will use 100% domestic parts, while aircraft such as C919, which is one level lower in difficulty, still have so many imported parts.

That will definitely be scolded.

You may not even be able to keep your position under your buttocks.

"Mr. He, can our C919 obtain airworthiness certification from the United States and Europe just because it uses a lot of parts from international manufacturers?"

"Will Boeing and Airbus be willing to see our C919 compete with them for the market?"

"Although this result is not what I want to see, it is basically certain that it will be difficult for the C919 to obtain airworthiness certification from the United States and Europe in the future."

Wei Jian directly opened the emperor's new clothes.

In fact, many people in Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation know this truth.

But everyone has an illusion that they can successfully obtain the World Bank certification of the United States and Europe by using a large number of parts from international manufacturers.

In fact, this is completely wishful thinking.

It's just that everyone didn't have a better choice before, so they can only comfort themselves in this way.

Historically, C919 has not seen any signs of passing the American and European airworthiness certification until 2024.

Before the 1920s, all aircraft produced by manufacturers did not need to undergo strict inspections before they could be put into flight, even for small-scale commercial operations.

Because at that time, humans did not have this airworthiness concept.

This led to a result that in the 1920s and 1930s, human aviation accidents were very frequent, and mass casualties were everywhere.

So in the late 1920s, both America and Europe had such a deep feeling that with the rapid development of commercial aviation, the public's emotions about aviation became more and more complicated.

On the one hand, the public hopes to be able to complete this kind of very efficient journey by flying.

But on the other hand, these unsafe factors in aviation have restricted the development of the entire industry.

Therefore, the relevant departments decided to entrust some special institutions, or set up such special institutions themselves, to certify the aircraft used for commercial transportation.

It is to see whether your original design is safe enough, and at the same time establish some basic safety specifications to measure these aircraft.

It is equivalent to professional institutions endorsing these aircraft. Only aircraft that meet the regulations are allowed to be put into commercial operation.

So this thing is very necessary.

However, with the development of the aviation industry, this thing sometimes has changed a bit.

Europe and the United States are the main makers of the current civil aviation rules and hold the right to interpret the certification standards and compliance methods. They also have excellent products and have long won market recognition and commercial success worldwide.

Therefore, the international airworthiness standards currently used by China are based on and more suitable for the development level of the aviation industry in the United States and Europe.

Some common management rules are obviously more favorable to early entrants and raise the threshold for latecomers.

For example, the famous 21.101 - "Change Product Rules" (CPR).

According to this clause, B737, A320 and other aircraft that obtained certification in the early years and their derivative models can maintain or trace back to earlier airworthiness standards.

And latecomers, such as ARJ21-700 and C919, must obtain certification in accordance with the latest airworthiness standards, which greatly increases the threshold and difficulty of entering the market.

This is just a normal restriction. There are some invisible restrictions, which are even more troublesome.

Anyway, even if your product is 100% in line with other people's regulations, you may not be issued an airworthiness certificate in the end.

Boeing and Airbus have to be both athletes and referees in the local area to a certain extent.

So whether it is C919 or Venus 777, it is destined to be difficult to obtain their airworthiness certificates.

Cao Yang has a very clear understanding of this point.

However, the lack of airworthiness certificates for these two regions does not mean that the Venus 777 cannot fly abroad.

If you want to open routes from China to Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and other places, as long as the local countries allow you to open them, that's fine.

At worst, you can give up the market that flies to Europe and the United States.

"Hey, you're right. After we go back, we will hold an internal meeting first, and then apply for a temporary board meeting to discuss this topic."

In the end, He Guoqing also knew that what Wei Jian said made sense.

Although he is the general manager of Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation, he actually does not have many choices now.

If he still refuses to use engines and other parts produced by Nanshan-based companies under this circumstance, people may directly take the upper-level route and force He Guoqing to change his mind or even replace him!

...

So many people from Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation went on business trips to Guangzhou, involving various core parts such as aircraft engines, flight control systems, electric transmission systems, landing gear, etc. This movement must be hidden from the eyes of those who are interested.

As the president of General Electric China Branch, Xiang Weimin had already arranged people to keep an eye on the movements of Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation.

Gradually, he naturally found out a lot of information.

As he got more and more information, Xiang Weimin's mood became heavier.

At the beginning, he wondered if the information he had found out was wrong. How could Nanshan Engine have developed an aircraft engine with a thrust of 44 tons and 22 tons?

This is impossible!

But slowly, he had to believe that this might be a fact.

So he dared not delay any longer and reported to GE President Immelt.

"Nanshan Engine has produced a prototype of NS44, and many of its performances are better than our GE90?"

The news reported to Xiang Weimin was a bolt from the blue for Immelt.

His first reaction was that the news was false.

But when reporting to Xiang Weimin, he had already guessed the other party's reaction, so he specifically emphasized that the Huaxia branch had inquired many times and finally confirmed that the news was basically true.

At most, whether the performance of the NS44 prototype can be smoothly implemented on the final mass-produced engine.

Then will there be some problems with the stability, quality and cost of the engine.

But even so, this is no longer a result that GE can accept.

After China has its own aviation engine technology for NS44, it will be difficult for GE to control Chinese companies such as Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation in terms of civil aviation engines.

"Immelt, although I know this news is incredible, I also hope it is fake news."

"But I think the company needs to consider a series of follow-up plans based on the premise that China has successfully developed the NS44."

"For example, will Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation continue to use the engines produced by our joint venture factory?"

Xiang Weimin didn't want to mention this kind of content that the leader obviously didn't want to hear.

But if he doesn't say it thoroughly now, the next step will be the most uncomfortable for the China branch.

He will have to take the blame at that time.

So since it is something that will be faced sooner or later, it is better to throw the problem out early.

In this way, it is not a problem of the China branch, but a problem of the headquarters.

In the workplace, it is safest to hand in things that you can't handle as soon as possible.

Otherwise, you will have to find someone to take responsibility when you can't cover it up later.

Especially in European and American companies, if the boss thinks you are wrong, you may be fired the next day, and you won't even be given time to hand over your work.

Unlike many state-owned enterprises, if you make a mistake, you will be rotated at most. Unless you violate the law, they will consider firing you.

"If Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation's C919 does not use our engines, then they will definitely not be able to obtain the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) airworthiness certificate. You must let Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation's people have a clear understanding of this."

At this point, the airworthiness certificate should be the most powerful thing Immelt can use to threaten Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation.

Although they revealed that they would help Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation's C919 obtain the FAA airworthiness certificate in the future, they did not threaten them.

The situation is different now.

If they did not threaten them, the situation might be really dangerous this time.

Although Immelt knew that it was actually impossible for C919 to obtain the FAA airworthiness certificate.

But considering the huge market in China, they still valued the order of this aircraft engine very much.

In order to get the order, they even agreed to produce the corresponding engines in China.

It has to be said that this is also a relatively sincere compromise.

Before this, China did not have the production capacity of civil aviation engines.

"Before, when Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation had no choice, everything was negotiable."

"Now Nanshan Engine has engines that look very good. I am afraid that even if we threaten them, it may not be effective."

"Even if Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Corporation is willing to continue to cooperate with us, Nanshan Engine will find a way to force them to change their minds."

"After all, the influence of Nanshan-related companies in China is very huge, and their technical strength is highly recognized by relevant Chinese departments."

Seeing that he could not keep the order, Xiang Weimin naturally had to explain the situation clearly as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it would become that he did not work hard, so he lost the order.

He could not bear this responsibility.

Based on his understanding of China's national conditions, GE was basically going to be in trouble this time.

The best outcome is that Nanshan Engine supplies most of the engines, and they supply a small part of the engines.

But even if this situation occurs, after Nanshan Engine's products are proven to be problem-free, they will sooner or later completely replace GE's engines.

"We have invested in building a factory in Huaxia to produce engines for the C919. If they want to change suppliers, we will need to claim compensation from them for the related equipment investment."

"This amount is very huge. I believe no one at Shanghai Comac is willing to bear it."

Immelt found a reason for Shanghai Comac to continue cooperating with him from another dimension.

However, Xiang Weimin was not very optimistic and said: "Although we signed some agreements at the time, there was no provision for Shanghai Comac's breach of contract liability if it did not purchase our engines."

"I'm afraid that even if we file a lawsuit, we may not be able to win."

Xiang Weimin's words directly silenced Immelt.

He knew very well that he would definitely not win the lawsuit.

But if even this threat method could not be used, what cards did General Electric have left?

The situation was worrying!

He felt that he needed to discuss it with Boeing people. This matter was not just General Electric's matter, but a major matter that would have a huge impact on the American aviation industry.